| Friday, November 15, 2019 |
| Mississippi State, MUW show enrollment increases despite system-wide drop | |
 | Although statewide enrollment in Mississippi's public universities has dropped slightly since last fall, both Mississippi State University and the Mississippi University for Women have shown slight increases. On Wednesday, the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees released fall 2019 enrollment figures. Mississippi State University showed an increase of 1.1% or 252 students from fall 2018, bring the university's current enrollment figures up to 22,226. Last fall's enrollment was 21,974 students. The data shows a fifth consecutive year of enrollment growth at MSU. "It's important to remember that it's about more than numbers, it's about student outcomes. Student success is at the center of everything we do, and it is our mission to ensure that all students receive the support they need to earn a degree from Mississippi State University," said MSU President Mark Keenum. |
| Mississippi State professor seeks subjects for hoarding study | |
 | Mary Dozier has heard a common theme in her research and interactions with people who struggle with hoarding disorder. "The number one goal that people tell me they want to get out of treatment is to have friends and family over for dinner, to be able to sit down in the living room and dining room and entertain," Dozier said. "We can all connect with that, with wanting to have that human connection." Dozier is an assistant professor of psychology at Mississippi State University who specializes in geriatric hoarding disorder. Hoarding is a mental disorder characterized by "persistent difficulty discarding items regardless of value, urges to save items and distress associated with discarding, and the accumulation of possessions which compromise use of the home," according to "Recent Advances in Research on Hoarding," a paper Dozier co-authored that was published in August. |
| Mississippi State programs provide help for students struggling with food insecurity | |
 | There are hundreds of thousands of college students on campuses around the U.S. While all of them are juggling daily deadlines, others are struggling with daily needs. Food insecurity is a growing issue among students. It doesn't matter whether you're a freshman, sophomore, or even a senior it can happen to anyone. That's why Mississippi State University has put together three different programs to serve students who are facing food insecurity. "It's hard to be successful in class if you're hungry," said Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Regina Hyatt. "Maroon Meals is a notification program that students can access by downloading the Mississippi State App and they can turn on through the app the Maroon Meals notifications. Whenever we have an event on campus the staff member or faculty member who's coordinating that event can literally send out a notification at the conclusion of their event to say there's food available." |
| Mississippi State unveils permanent POW/MIA chairs of honor | |
 | Mississippi State University unveiled permanent POW/MIA chairs of honor inside Davis Wade Stadium, Humphrey Coliseum and Dudy Noble Field in honor of service members on Veterans Day. The unoccupied chairs honor prisoners of war and service members who are missing in action, a release from MSU says. The university will formally unveil the chair of honor in Davis Wade Stadium as part of MSU's military appreciation football game against Alabama State University on Saturday, Nov. 16. Five permanent seats in Davis Wade Stadium will pay tribute to the five branches of the military: the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and the Coast Guard. MSU plans to have a veteran of each branch occupy the seats at future football games, the release says. All six of the seats, including the chair of honor, are located at midfield near the Bully memorial statue. |
| Billy McCoy remembered as populist, progressive, pragmatic | |
 | He was only 25, two years into a first term of office as mayor of Nettleton at an improbably young age, and as Brandon Presley drove he switched on the radio, dialing to an FM station out of Booneville. The voice of William J. "Billy" McCoy crackled over the airwaves of WPIB, speaking from the Hobo Station Volunteer Fire Department. The next 20 minutes changed Presley's life. "By divine intervention I turned that on," Presley said. "I can tell you from that day forward, it changed my political career." A legislator from the northeastern corner of Mississippi, McCoy served 32 years in the Mississippi House of Representatives. In his final two terms he was House speaker, one of the three most powerful posts in state government, and he was a key legislative partner in the effort to bring Toyota to Blue Springs and the Nissan plant to Canton. On Tuesday, McCoy died at age 77 at North Mississippi Medical Center after several years of declining health. |
| Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith faces backlash for blocking expanded background checks on gun sales | |
 | At the same time Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith blocked a bill Thursday morning that would have expanded background checks on firearm purchases, news was unfolding about a deadly school shooting in California. The House passed the bill in February, 240-190, largely on party lines. Eight Republicans supported the bill, and only two Democrats voted against it. A Democratic senator attempted to bring the bill to a vote Thursday, but Hyde-Smith's objection effectively killed the measure. Meanwhile, authorities in Santa Clarita, California, said a high school student fatally shot two classmates and injured five others before turning the gun on himself. Details --- including how the teen acquired the gun -- are still unclear, but some are already drawing a line between the shooting and Hyde-Smith's objection, saying it shows Republicans are not serious about addressing gun violence in America. Hyde-Smith spoke on the Senate floor, saying she blocked the bill because it was not bipartisan and it was being rushed to a vote. |
| Democrats lash out as GOP blocks gun measure amid shooting | |
| News of the Santa Clarita, California, school shooting broke Thursday just as Connecticut's two Democratic senators were making an emotional case for gun control on the Senate floor. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have been especially forceful advocates against gun violence since the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in which 26 people were killed, including 20 children. As Blumenthal was making his case, he was handed a note about what was happening across the country from Washington. Shortly before the shooting news spread, Murphy was on the Senate floor with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., calling on their colleagues to bring up a universal background checks bill that was passed by the House earlier this year. But Murphy's motion to pass the legislation in the Senate was immediately blocked by Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi. Hyde-Smith said she did so because her colleagues need time to consider the legislation and debate it. |
| Chain of Christian pregnancy centers to offer contraceptives | |
 | Planned Parenthood gave up roughly $60 million when it left a federal family planning program this summer in opposition to a new Trump administration rule prohibiting clinics from referring women for abortions. In Texas, a network of eight Christian pregnancy centers is jockeying for that Title X funding as it makes plans to take the unprecedented step of offering women contraceptives next year. The move by The Source marks a turning point for faith-based pregnancy centers that are opposed to abortions and typically do not provide birth control, while they instead preach abstinence before marriage. Kimberly Kelly, who researches faith-based pregnancy centers and serves as director of Gender Studies at Mississippi State University, said she has never heard of a crisis pregnancy center offering contraceptives and called The Source's action an anomaly. "So, this seems to be a very pragmatic compromise on the part of The Source centers where they've recognized that the anti-contraception position is simply out of sync with where American women are," Kelly said. |
| Activists Protest USDA Changes That Threaten Free School Lunch | |
 | When Elle Simone Scott was a young girl, her family relied on food stamps and her school's free lunch program to get by. "At several points in my life, receiving free lunch when I needed it the most, it was so beneficial for me," she says. "You know, it was sometimes the most complete meal that I and some of my friends would have in a day." Now Scott, a chef and TV host of America's Test Kitchen, is part of a coalition fighting to save the program from a proposed rule change by the Trump administration. Scott was among a few dozen people -- including anti-hunger groups, parents, students and local activists -- who staged a "lunch in" outside the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday. They were there to deliver petitions with 1.5 million signatures urging the agency not to adopt the proposed rule change. The change, first announced over the summer, would eliminate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, or SNAP, as the food stamps program is now known, for more than 3 million people by eliminating something called broad-based categorical eligibility, a policy that gives states the flexibility to waive some asset and income limits for households that receive both SNAP and other welfare benefits. |
| China ends ban on U.S. poultry imports as pig disease crisis causes meat shortage | |
| Beijing lifted a nearly five-year ban on imports of U.S. poultry meat on Thursday, a move the U.S. Trade Representative said would lead to more than $1 billion in annual shipments to China. China's decision comes as the world's two largest economies are trying to finalize a limited trade deal. It is also driven by an unprecedented shortage of meat in China after a fatal hog disease, African swine fever, has killed millions of pigs in the pork-loving country over the past year. China, the world's top pork consumer, will likely buy all types of U.S. chicken, turkey and duck to offset the pork shortage, said Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, an industry group. "We're in a state of euphoria," Sumner said. "At this point, if it's meat protein, they'll eat it." |
| Great news for Mississippi poultry farmers | |
| Mississippi Congressman Michael Guest commended the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agriculture Service for its work to reopen the Chinese poultry market to American farmers. United States poultry and poultry products have been banned by the Chinese government since 2015. The end of this ban will reopen a large export market for American poultry producers. "This is great news for our poultry farmers in Mississippi. As the third largest poultry producing district in the nation, Mississippi's Third Congressional District will benefit greatly from this renewed access to the Chinese market," Guest said. "Agriculture Secretary Purdue and Ambassador Lighthizer have secured a long sought-after victory for American agriculture. We are thankful for their unparalleled leadership in this win for our poultry industry." United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue announced the lifting of the ban Thursday. |
| Georgia poultry industry cheers resumption of exports to China | |
| Georgia officials cheered news Thursday that China would allow imports of U.S. poultry for the first time in nearly five years. Agriculture is Georgia's largest industry, and poultry the state's chief agricultural export. The state exported some $856 million worth of it in 2018, the latest estimate available from the Census Bureau. Beijing has banned all U.S. poultry imports since January 2015, a month after an avian influenza outbreak ravaged the industry. American poultry has been free of the disease since August 2017, according to the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The federal agency said it expects Americans will eventually be able to export more than $1 billion in poultry meat and related products to China annually. It was not immediately clear exactly when exports would restart, but Thursday's announcement came as the U.S. and China were in the thick of broader trade negotiations. |
| Medicaid change adds support for primary care doc training | |
| Mississippi Medicaid is changing the way it supports graduate medical education for new doctors in hopes of building on the success of a Tupelo-based program. Medicaid is now supplementing medical residency programs based on the number of doctors training with each program, instead of volume of Medicaid patients at its parent institution. "Ultimately, we think it's a more sustainable model," said Wil Ervin, Mississippi Medicaid director of external affairs. Mississippi generally ranks last in physicians per capita. Rural areas feel the shortage of physicians most acutely. While the expansion of University of Mississippi School of Medicine and the creation of the William Carey medical school have helped, Mississippi needs more slots in residency programs, especially for primary care specialties, like family medicine and internal medicine, to effectively address the shortages, said Dr. John Mitchell, director of the Office of Physician Workforce and a former family medicine residency faculty member in Tupelo. |
| Update: University enrollment is down, again. Here's how it changed. | |
 | Enrollment at the University of Mississippi has decreased 3.5% over the past year, according to a Thursday afternoon press release from the Institutions of Higher Learning. This is the third consecutive year that enrollment has fallen, and this year it fell more than it has in previous years. However, African American and overall minority enrollment have increased greatly. African American students make up 12.5% of the university population, and the university enrolls over 200 more African American students than last year. Freshman enrollment also decreased, dropping from 3,455 students in 2018-19 to 3,245 this year, a .09% decrease. A majority of all students, 58.3%, are Mississippi residents, the same exact figure as a year prior. The remaining 41.7% of students come from the other 49 states and represent 88 countries throughout the world. |
| U. of Mississippi enrollment down for third consecutive year | |
| The downward trend of University of Mississippi's enrollment numbers continued this year. For the third consecutive year the university saw a decline with the release of their 2019 enrollment numbers across all six campuses. A total of 22,273 students are enrolled at an Ole Miss campus throughout Mississippi, which is a drop of 817 students from 2018 or a 3.5 percent decrease. That is the highest percentage drop of the past three years. The University of Mississippi Medical Center saw a slight increase in enrollment this fall. A total of 2,852 students were enrolled in 2019 compared to last year's total of 2,816. Mississippi University for Women saw the biggest increase with a 3.8 percent jump in enrollment numbers from last year to this year. Mississippi Valley State University had the biggest drop with a 6 percent decrease in 2019. |
| Glenn Boyce will not use chancellor's Twitter account | |
| Chancellor Glenn Boyce will no longer use the UM Chancellor Twitter account as the primary way for the chancellor's office to communicate to the university community. The university still owns the @UMchancellor Twitter handle, which was created in September 2016, but it is no longer active. In a statement to The Daily Mississippian, a university spokesperson said that Boyce considered which social media platforms would help him most actively engage with the largest number of university community members and settled on Facebook, citing a study from the Pew Research Center. The study found that 71% of U.S. adults use Facebook, and 65% of that number are under the age of 35. The study did not gauge college students' use of social media. |
| USM students shout down protesters touting anti-gay message on campus | |
 | A group of anti-gay protesters from The Church of Jackson in Brookhaven were on the University of Southern Mississippi campus Thursday to promote biblical concepts that say homosexuality is wrong. "I speak for my God and my Bible," one protester said. "(God) transforms by the renewing of the mind. The spirit of God will teach you the truth." The group, which university officials say is from Brookhaven, has protested on the campus and others around the state in years past. The university has a free speech policy that allows protesters on campus in designated areas, even if they are not students. "The university has established high visibility areas on campus in order to facilitate robust debate and the free exchange of ideas," the policy says. "These Free Speech Zones may be used by any person, including non-students and other campus guests." The message was not well-received, as 75 to 100 students gathered around the protesters asking questions or shouting angrily in a counterprotest. |
| USM police: Disregard false human trafficking flyers on campus | |
 | The University of Southern Mississippi Police Department issued a notice regarding flyers circulating on the Hattiesburg campus that contain false information. USM police are asking faculty, staff and students to disregard a flyer that says, "HB 3470 is doing human trafficking!!! He has a gun in his car... please be careful and look out for the number plate. Pass this around and save a life!" The flyer also contains a photograph of a man. According to USM police, there is no credibility to the flyer. USM Police Chief Rusty Keyes said an identical message has circulated in other places for more than two years. "I encourage the University community to always contact UPD first before sharing information of this nature on social media," Keyes said. |
| 21-year-old USM student killed on Mississippi highway | |
| A 21-year-old University of Southern Mississippi student was killed Wednesday night in a car crash at the intersection of U.S. 49 and Mississippi 42. Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Travis Luck said the incident occurred around 9 p.m. Troopers responded to the crash, where a preliminary investigation determined that a Nissan Altima, driven by 21-year-old Jordan Jenkins of Harrisville, was in the southbound lane of U.S. 49 when a Chrysler passenger vehicle driven by 68-year-old Kathy Herrin of Germantown, Tennessee, collided with the Altima, striking the passenger side. Jenkins' girlfriend, Breosha Murray, who was a passenger in the Altima, was pronounced dead at the scene. "We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of University of Southern Mississippi student Breosha Murray," USM Vice President for Student Affairs Dee Dee Anderson said in a statement. "A loss of someone so young with a bright future ahead of her is heartbreaking for the USM community. I join our entire university community in conveying the deepest sorrow and sincere condolences to Breosha's family and friends." |
| Nike Vice President for Global Footwear visits Jackson State University | |
 | Kris Wright visited students at Jackson State University on Thursday. He's the Vice President for Global Footwear at Nike. Wright talked to students about the beginning of his career and how they can lay the groundwork for a successful future. |
| Millsaps College announces new music major | WJTV | |
| Millsaps College announced that the faculty approved a new major in music. The college released a statement: "Millsaps has a long and treasured history in music, and recognizes and values the impact of the study of music as an important part of a broader liberal arts education. The Department of Music is fortunate to have dedicated faculty and students who every day demonstrate their commitment to our legacy and future potential in music performance, choral music, and composition." |
| U. of Alabama students work to build a better car | |
 | Students at the University of Alabama are poised to begin work converting a stock Chevrolet Blazer into an environmentally friendly vehicle as part of the EcoCAR Challenge, a national competition involving teams from 12 universities. The car and the lab where it will be converted were shown in a tour Thursday. The organization Argonne National Lab will be overseeing the EcoCAR competition. |
| Auburn University students worry in wake of Aniah Blanchard case | |
| Anna Ickes said she has always been aware of the potential danger in her surroundings, especially because she is a woman. It was just the way she was raised. "I know that Auburn is a safe place, and I believe that I could protect myself, and I make conscious decisions to protect myself," said Anna Ickes, senior in elementary education. "I personally don't feel unsafe, but I do feel a little worried ... and I know other people are worried." For a number of students The Plainsman spoke with, that worry stems from the disappearance of Aniah Blanchard --- a Southern Union College student who was living in Auburn, studying and finishing homework, worrying about exams like many other students on the Plains. She was reported missing over three weeks ago. Since that day, flyers have gone up, alerts have been sent and a suspect, Ibraheem Yazeed, has been taken into custody on a first-degree kidnapping charge. As of publication, Blanchard is still missing. Campus safety officials acknowledged that students are on edge but that campus is safe. |
| U. of Florida maintains Trump Jr. visit wasn't campaign activity | |
 | The University of Florida's student body president is subject to the state's Code of Ethics for elected officials. But proving that an elected official's decision was made "corruptly" is difficult. More than a month has passed since Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, a reelection campaign adviser for President Trump, were paid $50,000 in student activity fees to speak at the University of Florida. In the weeks since the event, some current and former UF students continue to seek information from the university and want Student Body President Michael Murphy impeached. But while nothing is likely to happen on the impeachment front until spring, a state ethics official says the state ethics code and laws apply to all university professors, administrators and trustees and any state or local elected or appointed official or employee, which includes Murphy -- who serves as an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees. |
| U. of Tennessee sets new fundraising record with $2.55 million raised in 24 hours | |
 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville has set a new fundraising record, pulling in $2.55 million in 24 hours during Wednesday's Big Orange Give. The goal for the fundraising event was to raise $2.25 million in one day. That alone would have set a record for the most raised, up from last year's $2.1 million raised during the event. The university began accepting donations at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, and continued until 11:59 p.m. Special attention was given this year to the university's 225th anniversary. Supporters were encouraged to donate amounts based on 225, including increments like $22.50 or of $225, all going toward the goal of $2.25 million. Matching funds and challenge funds helped push the total past the initial goal, said Lauren Herbstritt, Director of Advancement for Annual Giving. |
| U.S.-Pakistani Women's Council holds symposium at Texas A&M | |
 | About 65 scholars, professionals, students and representatives from the U.S. State Department and the Pakistani government gathered on the Texas A&M University campus Thursday for a daylong symposium designed to further the mission of supporting women's economic empowerment and advancement in Pakistan. The summit was an initiative of the U.S.-Pakistan Women's Council, which is a public-private partnership between Texas A&M and the State Department, according to Executive Director Radhika Prabhu. She said the council is jointly based in Washington, D.C., and in Pakistan. Prabhu said that the council's recent initiatives include a Million Women Mentors program and a program to connect women to corporate supply chains in Pakistan. "Our primary goal is to accelerate women's entrepreneurship, access to employment and access to educational opportunities and bring more women into the economy in Pakistan," Prabhu said. She said that the council and A&M began working together earlier this year. |
| U. of Missouri to demolish 127-year-old Pickard Hall | |
 | Pickard Hall, the 127-year-old building on the University of Missouri's Francis Quadrangle that formerly housed radioactive materials and whose fate has been debated for a decade, will be demolished. The building was used most recently in 2013, when it housed the Museum of Art and Archaeology and offices. It has been unoccupied since the museum was moved, said MU spokesman Christian Basi. The decision, announced Thursday by MU officials, has been a difficult one, Basi said. There were no options that were cost-effective. "We have looked at every possible to option to save the building and to do so in a cost-effective manner," Basi said. Officials have submitted a plan to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. When it's approved, the university will have two years to complete the demolition. "We are budgeting approximately $12 million" for demolition, Basi said. "That is a significant expense. We have had to find a location that will accept radioactive construction waste. We can't just haul it off." |
| The Rise of the Battleground Campus | |
 | As the 2020 election approaches, both parties are sinking money and time into college campuses, driven by the idea that students -- often dismissed as low-turnout layabouts -- could have a huge effect in a tight race in a swing state. The mega-campuses of the Brobdingnagian public universities and community colleges in states like Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan or Pennsylvania are sometimes called "battleground campuses" by organizers and activists on the ground. "In an election that could come down to a point or two either way in Arizona or Wisconsin, turning out voters at ASU, University of Wisconsin-Madison and other college campuses in these states could easily make the difference," said Andrew Baumann, a pollster for Global Strategy Group, a consulting firm that spent 2018 trying to figure out what makes the would-be college voter tick for Tom Steyer's NextGen. In the Trump era, college students are voting in record numbers. |
| Behind Closed Doors in Washington, Here's What Colleges Fight For | |
 | Anyone familiar with the back rooms of Washington politics knows about the industry associations. Staffed by lobbyists, these groups usually pursue different versions of the same agenda: ensuring their clients' access to the public treasury while shielding them from public regulation. Energy companies lobby for lucrative write-offs on equipment and lax restrictions on pollution. Wall Street firms fight for the freedom to market risky financial products while paying low taxes on the profits. And so on. Less well known is that industry associations also represent the interests of your alma mater or favorite local college. They do what lobbyists do, working behind the scenes to water down legislation -- most recently, provisions that would hold colleges accountable if too few students graduate, get jobs and pay off loans. The legislation in question right now is a new version of the federal Higher Education Act. |
| Betsy DeVos And The High-Stakes Standoff Over Student Loan Forgiveness | |
| The U.S. Department of Education agreed to hand over department records late Thursday to Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., the Democratic chairman of the U.S. House education committee, just hours before Scott was set to subpoena Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for the records. The information relates to the Education Department's unwillingness to fully forgive the federal student loans of borrowers who say they were defrauded by for-profit colleges, including the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges. "We've been asking for information since last year," Scott told NPR on Thursday, before the department promised the documents. "We expect answers." According to the most recent federal data, as of June 2019 more than 210,000 borrowers were waiting to have their claims processed under a 1995 rule known as "borrower defense." The department's decision is just the latest development in an ongoing dispute between DeVos and Scott about this previously little-used provision. |
| The Real Threat From China? | |
 | The number of scholarly articles published by American researchers in science and engineering would have declined without collaboration from Chinese co-authors, according to a new study of Sino-American research partnerships. Americans' research output would have declined by 2 percent from 2014 to 2018, the study's authors conclude, while Chinese publications in science and engineering would have increased even without such cooperation. "From solely a U.S. nation-state perspective that views scientific advancement as zero-sum competition with winners and losers, the findings demonstrate that the U.S.A. has more to lose than gain in cutting ties with China," write Jenny J. Lee and John P. Haupt, both of the University of Arizona. Research with China has come under scrutiny as U.S. government officials warn of higher education's national-security vulnerabilities. |
| New Research on Diversity Officers, Campus Climate | |
 | More institutions now have chief diversity officers than ever before. But how do institutions make decisions surrounding these new offices? A new qualitative study of two large unnamed research-intensive universities to create these positions finds they were "structural" responses to what are really "cultural" issues and related crises. The study recommends that universities assess campus climate in appointing chief diversity offices, and that those findings inform the way the particular campus office works. A second study co-written by Eugene T. Parker, assistant professor of higher education administration at the University of Kansas, who wrote the diversity officer study, relates to what kinds of faculty-student interaction make students feel welcome on campus. It found that communicating with a professor by email or in person, experiencing equitable and fair treatment by professors, and having access to faculty members outside class were all positively associated with positive perceptions of the climate for diversity. |
| How Mindfulness Helps Grad Students | |
| Ph.D. students already have too much to do and a long list of challenges, from research setbacks to paying the bills on a meager salary. That's not to mention the things that can really go wrong for a graduate student, such as having an abusive adviser. So the notion that a bit of mindfulness -- however popular it's become -- can make a difference in a graduate student's life may seem annoyingly quaint, or even offensive. A paper in the Journal of American College Health on the effects of mindfulness practice on doctoral candidates' mental health acknowledges all that. At the same time, the authors can't help believing in what they found in their randomized control trial -- the first such trial involving graduate students: compared to the control group, students who practiced mindfulness reported a statistically significant reduction in depression and increased self-efficacy, hope and resilience. |
SPORTS
| Why Alabama game is meaningful for Mississippi State's Austin Williams | |
| Located in southwest Germany, Ramstein Air Base is a special place for the Williams family. As a junior in high school roughly 30 years ago, Craig Williams met his future wife, Carol, at Ramstein, the headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe. It's also where Craig and Carol's son, Austin, learned to play football as a fifth grader. A decade later, Austin will suit up as a wide receiver for Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4 SEC) to play against Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC), ranked No. 4 in the Amway Coaches Poll. Saturday is MSU's annual military appreciation game at Davis Wade Stadium, and Austin might be as appreciative of the armed forces as anybody on the Bulldogs' roster. His father rose to the rank of a lieutenant colonel vice commander after 23 years in the Air Force. Craig Williams currently works as a C-130J simulator instructor pilot at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi. |
| Nick Saban wants Alabama's attention on Mississippi State | |
| No. 4 Alabama's path for another appearance in the College Football Playoff became a little more difficult this past weekend with a 46-41 home loss to top-ranked LSU. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban doesn't want his players looking that far into the future though. Saban wants their focus squarely upon their trip to Starkville on Saturday to play Mississippi State. "The No. 1 thing that I'm concerned about, just so everybody gets it, is how we complete the season," Saban said. "I don't want to talk about anything other than the game we have this week. We're not making any predictions or whatever. We have a legacy around here that we've only had one team in the last 12 years that's lost more than one game in the regular season and I'd like for this team to be able to continue that." |
| Three matchups to watch ahead of Mississippi State's showdown with No. 5 Alabama | |
| The Tide are rolling into town once more. Saturday, Mississippi State will welcome No. 5-ranked Alabama to Davis Wade Stadium looking to snap an 11-game losing streak against coach Nick Saban. Sitting at 4-5 and 2-4 in the SEC, MSU still has bowl aspirations ahead of it with three games to play, while No. 5 Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC) is picking up the pieces from last week's loss to No. 1 LSU in Tuscaloosa. Here are three matchups to watch Saturday afternoon: MSU secondary vs. Alabama wide receivers. MSU running back Kylin Hill vs. Alabama defensive end Raekwon Davis. MSU vs. history. |
| No. 4 Alabama aims to rebound against Mississippi State | |
| Mississippi State is catching Alabama on the rebound, for better or worse. The fourth-ranked Crimson Tide visits the Bulldogs Saturday seeking to bounce back from a loss that dealt a blow to the team's Southeastern Conference and national title hopes. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's status is once again "a game-time decision," according to Alabama coach Nick Saban. But Tagovailoa went the distance in a 46-41 loss to No. 1 LSU, a major setback that most likely cost Alabama (8-1, 5-1 SEC) at least a shot at the league title. The Tide remains fifth in the playoff rankings and has some pressure to not only beat the Bulldogs (4-5, 2-4) but look strong doing it --- no matter who's at quarterback. "We're not anticipating any kind of lingering effect or any kind of hangover or anything," Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead said. "We're expecting their best, and they're going to get our best as well." |
| What Mississippi State is playing for during stretch run of football season | |
| Define legacy. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, it is "something that is a result of events in the past." The Mississippi State coaching staff explained the word to its team this week in preparation for Saturday's game against Alabama. Legacies can be negative. The legacy of a hard-fought war is bleak no matter who won and lost. Legacies can be positive, too. Flourishing football teams are fondly remembered. Mississippi State has not flourished this season. The Bulldogs are 4-5 and need to win two of their last three games to keep alive the longest bowl game appearance streak in program history. It currently sits at nine-straight seasons. "In football I believe that you'll always be remembered by what you do in November," MSU defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said. "The legacy for this unit and this class and this team will be determined by what happens in these next few weeks." |
| Reggie Perry posts double-double in Mississippi State victory | |
| It only took Mississippi State's Reggie Perry 22 seconds into the second half to record his second-straight double-double. Perry finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds in the Bulldogs' 62-45 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday night. It was Perry's 11th career double-double, which leads all active players in the Southeastern Conference. "Fourteen and 14, that's a man," said MSU coach Ben Howland. "He was dominant tonight. I loved the way he played. He had three assists and did a lot of good things for us. It was a really good overall win." Howland was also happy with the way his team played defensively, forcing 17 turnovers and holding the Warhawks to 35.3 percent shooting. State held ULM to only one basket the first 6:05 of the game. "In the first half I thought our defensive was incredibly effective," Howland said. "That's the same team that had Texas A&M down eight on Monday night in College Station." |
| Reggie Perry's double-double leads Mississippi State past ULM | |
| Mississippi State used a dominating defensive showing and balanced scoring attack to move past Louisiana-Monroe 62-45 on Thursday at Humphrey Coliseum. Reggie Perry had 14 points and 14 rebounds to lead four Bulldogs in double digits. It marked the second consecutive double-double for Perry, who also had three assists and two steals. Robert Woodard had 13 points for the Bulldogs (3-0) while Iverson Molinar and D.J. Stewart each had 10 points. "I thought we played really good basketball," said Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland. "Our defense was very effective against a team that had Texas A&M down by eight points in College Station, Texas. We did an especially good job on their guards and both were returning all-league players in their conference. It was a really good effort and we forced them into 17 turnovers. And we only turned it over four times in the first half." |
| 3 takeaways from Mississippi State men's basketball win over Louisiana Monroe | |
| For the first time this season, Mississippi State never trailed as the Bulldogs beat Louisiana Monroe, 62-45, at Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday night. Mississippi State (3-0) didn't need any dramatic comebacks or mind-boggling scoring runs. The Dawgs played two relatively efficient halves of basketball to coast to an easy victory. After averaging 20.5 turnovers per game in the first two, Mississippi State only turned it over 14 times against ULM. The Bulldogs tallied 11 assists on 20 baskets made and shot 40.8% from the field. Here are three takeaways from Mississippi State's third win of the year. |
| Bulldogs meet Murray State in women's hoops | |
| No. 10 Mississippi State returns to the court tonight hosting Murray State at 7 p.m. Vic Schaefer's Bulldogs have hot out of the gate, winning both of their games by an average of 34.5 points. Sophomore forward Jessika Carter (15.5), junior forward Chloe Bibby (14.0) and freshmen guards Aliyah Matharu (12.5) and JaMya Mingo-Young (10.0) are all averaging double figures in the scoring column. Murray State is 1-1 on the year after picking up its first win at Mississippi Valley State, 72-66, on Wednesday. Sophomore guard Macey Turley is the Racers' top scorer at 18 points per game. |
| Auburn-Georgia battle for pride runs through Jordan-Hare again as Deep South's Oldest Rivalry renews | |
 | Bo Nix pulled up the film and saw that familiar red and black flicker across the screen, and he was hit by that surreal feeling all over again. He's living his dream again, putting a pen on the newest chapter of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. And he isn't alone. There are plenty of players on Auburn's roster from the states of Georgia or Alabama who are plenty familiar with the series, or otherwise have heartbeats bumping at the chance to live out the dream of playing in from of a packed crowd in one of college football's classic rivalry games. To so many, in orange and blue, this is the dream. And they're all bend on turning it into a living nightmare for their bitter enemies. Auburn kicks off against Georgia at 2:30 p.m. on CBS with the chance to wreck the Bulldogs' playoff hopes and win for Auburn power and orange-and-blue bragging rights in the 124th edition of the seemingly immortal series. |
| Georgia-Auburn game presents quandary for the Fromm family | |
| When parents have children playing college football at different places at the same time, it brings forth all kinds of logistical complications you probably hadn't considered before. The Fromm family is experiencing that this week. To date, Lee and Emerson Fromm have been best-known as parents to Georgia's star quarterback, Jake Fromm. But they also happen to be mom and dad to twins Dylan and Tyler Fromm. Dylan plays quarterback at Mercer in Macon. Tyler plays tight end for Auburn, which happens to play Jake's Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium (3:30 p.m., CBS). This is the younger brothers' first season of college football, so it helps that both are in the midst of what looks like redshirt years. Neither has played this season. But then there are other problems only a mother could fully appreciate. For instance, there is ticket distribution. The Fromms will have access to four from the Auburn side and four from the Georgia side. Where does one sit, and who goes on what side? |
| Big game weekends create economic boom | |
| Big home games like Auburn's Saturday tilt versus Georgia this weekend and the Iron Bowl in two weeks are not only fun for fans and alumni. "Financially (these weekends) are significant for the community," said Auburn Mayor Ron Anders. "The money that's left behind in Auburn on football weekends is one of the greatest industries we have in our community." Opelika makes out pretty well, too. "The biggest impact is at Tiger Town," Opelika Chamber of Commerce President Pam Smith-Powers said. "You have people staying in those hotels, eating at those restaurants, shopping in those stores." Many businesses in the area were in full swing for the three Tigers home games in September, but Jordan-Hare Stadium was empty in October and tourism slowed to a halt. Opelika won't be in thick of the game-day action, but Smith-Powers said people gravitate there on these busy weekends for that very reason. |
| U. of Tennessee Spirit Team mishandled money under former coordinator | |
| In the middle of an investigation into the messy finances of the University of Tennessee's Spirit Team, the now-retired coordinator told investigators she discovered $2,047 of the team's money at her home. Joy Postell-Gee, the longtime cheer coach and spirit squad coordinator, retired in July after a 13-month investigation into allegations she didn't manage the team's finances well and made "racially and ethnically insensitive remarks" to students, according to the university. The Tennessee Comptroller's Office began looking at the team's books after an investigation into Postell-Gee's conduct as coach raised red flags about the team's finances. Investigators ultimately concluded at least $1,580 of the team's money was mishandled in 2017 and 2018. The money was collected by Spirit Team personnel for a cheer tryouts and a one-day clinic, but was never deposited with the UT-Knoxville Athletics's Business Office. |
| Tennessee Lady Vols to UConn's Geno Auriemma: We're focused on now | |
 | The Tennessee women's basketball team had a swift response Thursday to UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who laid into the Lady Vols culture and athletic director Phillip Fulmer over his frustration about a Tennessee transfer. "The 12 players that I work with are bought in," coach Kellie Harper said following a 73-43 victory over Tennessee State at Thompson-Boling Arena. "They play hard, they practice hard, they have good team chemistry. From my viewpoint, Tennessee is a great place to be a student athlete." Senior forward Lou Brown emphasized her new coach's view. "We have a great team and we love our coaches," Brown said. "It's a good environment for us now, for us here. That's where our focus is now. We're worried about now, we're worried about what's going on this year." Auriemma criticized the Lady Vols and Fulmer on Wednesday night for their handling of Evina Westbrook's transfer from Tennessee to the Huskies. Tennessee and UConn will play in Hartford, Connecticut on Jan. 23, the first meeting between the two teams in 13 years. |
| James Wiseman ineligible: Memphis basketball, NCAA work on resolution | |
| Star Memphis basketball freshman James Wiseman has withdrawn his lawsuit against the NCAA, indicating a settlement could be in the works over his eligibility. Wiseman and his legal team filed a notice of voluntary nonsuit Thursday in a show of good faith toward the NCAA just days before a hearing in Shelby County Chancery court was scheduled for Monday. The firms representing Wiseman -- Ballin, Ballin and Fishman, as well as Farese, Farese and Farese -- issued a statement: "It has become clear to Mr. Wiseman that the lawsuit he filed last week has become an impediment to the University of Memphis in its efforts to reach a fair and equitable resolution with the NCAA concerning his eligibility status. Therefore, Mr. Wiseman advised his legal team that he wished to withdraw his lawsuit. There will be no further comment at this time." The University of Memphis subsequently declared Wiseman ineligible for competition and it will immediately apply for his reinstatement. |
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